Could have been unwieldy, instead it is comprehensive

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2019)

In 1962, almost post studio system 20th Century Fox was in trouble. Almost broke because of the cost of making then in-progress Cleopatra, they were in a similar fix with filming "The Longest Day". They had been churning out a series of small films with small stars that were losers at the box office. Turn on Fox Movie Channel Retro if you want an object lesson in their sorry output during the late 50s/early 60s. Enter stage left Darryl F. Zanuck, former head of Fox studio, who had left the states in 1956 to make a series of loser films in Europe with his girlfriends who were loser actresses. He argued how he could rescue The Longest Day to the board of directors, and the job became his.
The result is a great film in the tradition of old Hollywood - Zanuck's kind of Hollywood - that entertains on a grand scale, telling the story of the Allied invasion of France with a star studded cast. The big stars of the day were all there, with special billing for John Wayne. The cast includes Eddie Albert, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, Red Buttons, Steve Forrest and Leo Genn. Unbelievably Sal Mineo and Roddy McDowell get into the act too. And there are many others.
There are many stories being told in many places from the viewpoints of the Allied soldiers, the Germans, and the French resistance prior to the actual invasion. We don't get to follow the stories of all of these people to the end, but each story gives us a slice of life and produces a great and compelling story of the overall invasion. You don't know who is going to get cut down suddenly, who is going to make it, and who is just going to be the victim of just plain bad luck. It is all part of the horror of war. Highly recommended. It is a long film, but it is also an engrossing one.